Ashley, C. (2017). Emotional Intelligence (EQ): Why lawyers need it to succeed. GPSolo.

ANÁLISIS DE CASO: INTELIGENCIA EMOCIONAL

It was Friday, and a typically frenetic week at Larry's firm was winding down. Larry was in his
car on his way back from court after being excoriated by the judge deciding his motion for
summary judgment. The motion was for one of his firm's most important and demanding clients.
Larry lost the motion, and the judge did not withhold his criticism for what he called "the least
persuasive motion I have read in my 25 years on the bench."

Leaving the court fuming and dejected, Larry fired off a text to his secretary, Sarah: "SMASAIR."
Sarah immediately knew what this screaming text meant: "STAFF MEETING AS SOON AS I
RETURN." Sarah also knew this was not good. Larry's "staff meetings" were nothing more than
finger-pointing rants, diatribes, and edicts.

Larry's thoughts turned back to the motion. Had he delegated too much of the motion
preparation to his young new associate, Alan? Should he have been more directly involved? For
several months now, Larry was being pulled in many directions and simply was tapped out on
all fronts. Things had been quite different since his senior associate, Francine, left the firm.
Larry was beginning to rethink and regret this loss. She was a great -- no, excellent -- well-
rounded lawyer who was skilled at service delivery and business development. Why did she
leave? Did Larry miss something? Was she looking for more money? Partnership?
Unfortunately, Larry did not have any of these answers. He did not take Francine's leaving too
well. Francine was courteous and provided Larry with two months' notice for her resignation.
Offended and incensed by her decision to leave, Larry told her the resignation would be
effective at the end of the week.

As Larry replayed that event in his mind, feelings of anger, doubt, and pessimism filled his head.
He was now arriving at his office. He walked in, slamming the door. Immediately, he went to the
conference room -- it was empty. Larry yelled to Sarah, "Damn it! Where is everyone?" Sarah
replied that Alan was on his way back from court and that Patti (the office paralegal) received a
call from her son's elementary school and had to leave. Larry continued to fume: "This
is why nothing gets done around here. I should fire everyone."

Alan and Patti arrived within minutes of one another. Larry immediately tore into both of them.
"Patti, I pay you good money to work for me, you can handle your-parent-teacher organization
activities on your own time." Patti replied that she never handles school activities during work
hours and that she was called to the school because her son was experiencing an asthma
attack. Larry looked at Patti and replied: "N.M.P." "What?" Patti asked, looking confused. Larry
barked, "Not My Problem." Larry then turned his attention to his court appearance earlier in the
day. Just as Sarah had predicted, Larry launched into an attack on how Alan had done such a
poor job writing the brief. Larry continued his tirade, "Not only did we lose the motion, but we will
probably lose this client."

After the meeting, Alan spoke with Sarah. "I guess I don't have much of a future here. I thought I
did my best, but Larry didn't give me any direction. On top of that, I was trying to meet five other
deadlines. Maybe I should start looking for a new job because I'm not sure that I'm cut out for
this." Alan walked away looking defeated.
Ashley, C. (2017). Emotional Intelligence (EQ): Why lawyers need it to succeed. GPSolo.

ANÁLISIS DE CASO: INTELIGENCIA EMOCIONAL

It was Friday, and a typically frenetic week at Larry's firm was winding down. Larry was in his
car on his way back from court after being excoriated by the judge deciding his motion for
summary judgment. The motion was for one of his firm's most important and demanding clients.
Larry lost the motion, and the judge did not withhold his criticism for what he called "the least
persuasive motion I have read in my 25 years on the bench."

Leaving the court fuming and dejected, Larry fired off a text to his secretary, Sarah: "SMASAIR."
Sarah immediately knew what this screaming text meant: "STAFF MEETING AS SOON AS I
RETURN." Sarah also knew this was not good. Larry's "staff meetings" were nothing more than
finger-pointing rants, diatribes, and edicts.

Larry's thoughts turned back to the motion. Had he delegated too much of the motion
preparation to his young new associate, Alan? Should he have been more directly involved? For
several months now, Larry was being pulled in many directions and simply was tapped out on
all fronts. Things had been quite different since his senior associate, Francine, left the firm.
Larry was beginning to rethink and regret this loss. She was a great -- no, excellent -- well-
rounded lawyer who was skilled at service delivery and business development. Why did she
leave? Did Larry miss something? Was she looking for more money? Partnership?
Unfortunately, Larry did not have any of these answers. He did not take Francine's leaving too
well. Francine was courteous and provided Larry with two months' notice for her resignation.
Offended and incensed by her decision to leave, Larry told her the resignation would be
effective at the end of the week.

As Larry replayed that event in his mind, feelings of anger, doubt, and pessimism filled his head.
He was now arriving at his office. He walked in, slamming the door. Immediately, he went to the
conference room -- it was empty. Larry yelled to Sarah, "Damn it! Where is everyone?" Sarah
replied that Alan was on his way back from court and that Patti (the office paralegal) received a
call from her son's elementary school and had to leave. Larry continued to fume: "This
is why nothing gets done around here. I should fire everyone."

Alan and Patti arrived within minutes of one another. Larry immediately tore into both of them.
"Patti, I pay you good money to work for me, you can handle your-parent-teacher organization
activities on your own time." Patti replied that she never handles school activities during work
hours and that she was called to the school because her son was experiencing an asthma
attack. Larry looked at Patti and replied: "N.M.P." "What?" Patti asked, looking confused. Larry
barked, "Not My Problem." Larry then turned his attention to his court appearance earlier in the
day. Just as Sarah had predicted, Larry launched into an attack on how Alan had done such a
poor job writing the brief. Larry continued his tirade, "Not only did we lose the motion, but we will
probably lose this client."

After the meeting, Alan spoke with Sarah. "I guess I don't have much of a future here. I thought I
did my best, but Larry didn't give me any direction. On top of that, I was trying to meet five other
deadlines. Maybe I should start looking for a new job because I'm not sure that I'm cut out for
this." Alan walked away looking defeated.